With changes to the mortgage application process now in place, some customers may worry that it will be harder to secure a mortgage to buy a new home.
While some customers have reported problems due to the new process; time taken, difficulty in providing information or variety of offers available; securing a mortgage shouldn’t have to be so stressful. Especially, when it means you get to buy your dream Story Home at the end of it.
Steve Hardaker, Property Finance Consultant at Armstrong Watson, has some tips to help you get into the best possible position to secure your mortgage:
- Have a plan. Start off with a clear idea of your monthly budget, available deposit and how much you are willing to pay for upfront costs such as surveys, etc.
- Be clear about the property type you want to buy. Is it a new build?
- Make sure you have the right documentation. Are you on the voters roll at your current address? Does your driving licence show the correct address? Have you got your most recent payslips/accounts/P60 etc. All of these will help prove both your income and your identity.
- Be clear on timescales. Give yourself enough time to arrange the mortgage. The average timescale for buying a property in England is 8-10 weeks, so make sure your application goes in nice and early.
- Check your own credit file. This is good practice for everyone to do at least once a year. You will be surprised how many companies have searched your file and left a “footprint” on it. Most of these will happen after you have used a comparison website to search for car or home insurance and are of no real interest to the lender. However mistakes can be made, for example, there may be incorrectly recorded missed or late payments. Getting these rectified prior to any mortgage application make be the difference between being accepted or declined.
- Check your unused credit. Look into your credit limits on your credit card, store cards and overdrafts, if you don’t need it then reduce it, as most lenders will view them as revolving credit and this could reduce the maximum amount that you could borrow.
- Source of deposit. Make sure you able to provide proof of deposit with bank statements or investment values, if the deposit is coming from a relative then they will have to declare this a gift and that they will have no financial interest in the property.
- Direct debits. Set up a bills account, you could end up with 6 or 7 direct debits coming out linked to your new purchase and they will come out at different times of the month, this will help budgeting.
Whilst this is not an exhaustive list it will certainly help with any future mortgage application, but for extra peace of mind using the right mortgage broker can make all the difference.
Story Homes recommended mortgage advisers are able to take the stress out of securing a mortgage by carefully examining the market place and using experience to select a lender who will process the application with the minimum of fuss, meaning that the application should sail through the underwriting process and complete as quickly as possible.
For more information please speak to one of our sales advisers at your chosen development.
